Professor James Brudney shared his expert opinion with Women’s Wear Daily on how employers can provide the proper legal protections to their workers amidst COVID-19 shutdowns.
The coronavirus pandemic has upended the year for people from Wuhan to Milan. New York City alone now has almost 100,000 confirmed cases and all nonessential businesses, including many in the fashion sector, have shuttered since March 22 in response to orders from the state governor and a collective effort to “flatten the curve” of coronavirus infections.
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James Brudney, a professor at Fordham University School of Law with extensive experience in employment and international labor law, stressed the importance for employers, particularly larger brands, of “doing the right thing by their workers and in reputational terms, not just the barely legal thing.”
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“One would hope that in these circumstances employers, who are also obviously suffering, would have the sense of both compassion and justice not to be taking retaliatory steps against workers who are trying to protect their fundamental safety and health in tough conditions,” said Brudney, adding that exposure to the coronavirus at work could lead to sizable state workers’ compensation claims.
